Influence of Humidity on the Elastic Modulus and Axis Compressive Strength of Concrete in a Water Environment

Abstract

Concrete structures are often in different humidity conditions that have a significant impact on the elastic modulus of concrete, therefore, systematic research on the evolution of the law of concrete elastic modulus under different humidity conditions is needed. In this study, the variation laws of the water saturation of concrete specimens with strength grades C15, C20, and C30 were obtained, and then the influence laws of the water saturation on the concrete axial compressive strength were carried out, and the prediction model of elastic modulus of concrete with respect to water saturation was constructed. The results showed that the water saturation of concrete with strength grades C15, C20, and C30 increased with an extension of immersion time, and the water saturation showed an approximately linear rapid growth within three soaking hours, reaching 47.56%, 71.63%, and 47.29%, respectively. Note, the concrete reached saturation state when the soaking time was 240 h. The axial compressive strength with strength grades C15, C20, and C30 decreased with increased water saturation, and the axial compressive strength of saturated concrete decreased by 27.25%, 21.14%, and 20.76%, respectively, as compared with the dry state concrete. The elastic modulus of concrete with strength grades C15, C20, and C30 increased with increased water saturation, and the elastic modulus of saturated concrete was 1.18, 1.19, and 1.24 times higher than those of dry concrete, respectively.

A Comprehensive Literature Review on the Elastic Modulus of Rock-filled Concrete

“…It was discovered that impregnated concrete exhibits greater values of Poisson's ratio and modulus of elasticity compared to dry concrete with equivalent volumes [41]. In [42], it was found that the modulus of elasticity of totally impregnated concrete exhibited a 30% increase compared to that of fully dry concrete. The modulus of elasticity of dry concrete exhibits a 15% reduction compared to impregnated concrete.…”

On concurrent multiscale topology optimization for porous structures under hygro‐thermo‐elastic multiphysics with considering evaporation

“…It is important to mention that all cases are considered for plane strain, therefore; there is no consideration to the out of plane direction (i.e., 2D case). Moreover, the change in mechanical properties due to the physical and chemical [84][85][86] interaction with the hydrogen bonds of water is beyond the scope of this research. These two studies are discussed in Sections 4.1, and 4.2, respectively.…”

Variation Pattern of the Elastic Modulus of Concrete under Combined Humidity and Heat Conditions

“…Compared with the thermal weakening effect of the elastic modulus, the water effect on the elastic modulus is still controversial. Although most studies show that water has a strengthening effect on the elastic modulus due to its smaller compressibility and greater viscosity than air [18][19][20][21][22][23], some scholars still believe that the influence of water on the elastic modulus is not significant [24,25], and may even go down [26]. The reason for the insignificant influence of water on the elastic modulus or even the weakening effect may be that the initial cracks inside the concrete are too many due to uneven mixing in the process of concrete production or the relatively low environmental humidity in the process of concrete curing.…”